Man in the Freezer
by wish10025
Summary: My first try at writing bones fanfic... There's murdere, crime of passion, b/b fluff and moments and much more! R&R :D
1. Chapter 1

**My first attempt at a bones fanfic- theres crime, drama, and some b/b moments! Let me know what u think. Also, for those who have already read it before, I changed the format from script to story, so i could add more details and it could paint a better picture... i hope! **

**R&R please :D**

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Chapter One:

"Whoa, Bones… where are you going?" asked Booth as he watched his partner dash around the office grabbing her papers and belongings. "Bones! Slow your horses! What's up?" he asked again.

"I don't know what that means, Booth" she replied "but I'm running kind of late for an interview with one of the grad students."

"Ahh... another one of those squints eh?"

"Yes, another of one those squints" replied Brennan with a dismal expression, and she accompanied Booth on the couch.

"Your not going to hire this one either Bones are you? Or the next one, or the one after that"

"Well that's quite an assumption booth. Just because the probability has been against my liking… I'm only trying to find the best replacement for the lab." Brennan sighed with frustration.

Booth put his arms around his partner and hugged her, trying to sooth her pain.

"I know it's not easy Bones- for you, for us, for the whole team- but we'll get through it. Like I said, everything happens eventually." He can see the pain in her eyes. Every time she has another one of these interviews, her hopes sink more.

"Zack… you know, he was one of a kind" she tired to explain.

"I Know Bones, I know."

"He was a genius Booth, an intelligent scientist who… who got manipulated by a dominate evil power and... and was defeted."

Booth said nothing. He just held her closely and listened.

"So…"he finally said after a few moments of blissful silence, "you think this will be the lucky student?"

Brennan bolted off the sofa like lighting. "Oh my God! The interview! I completely forgot!"

Booth put his goofy grin on, and said, "first of all, you don't believe in God… and second…" he paused, "I guess you were just too cozy with me" he teased. His grin grew bigger as he watched his partner's eyes widen and cheeks turn a pinkish glow.

"I... What? No… Goodbye Booth."

She fumbled out of the room, leaving a chuckling Booth and a slight smile on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: 

Brennan looked at her watch for the third time that afternoon. She had been waiting for 30 minutes for the graduate student, Linda, but there was still no sign of her. Brennan appreciated punctuality and organization. It showed that a person was reliable, and capable of handling responsibilities.

_"Clearly"_ she thought, _"Linda is not the next Zach... despite her impressive marks and persuasive reference letters."_ She decided to give Linda ten more minutes, and then she would leave.

As she waited, she ordered a berry smoothie to cool her thirst on such a hot and sunny day. Just then, her cell rang.

"Brennan" she answered

"Hey, hey! How's my favorite anthropologist doing?"

Brennan smiled at the familiar sound of Booth's voice. She always found comfort and sincerity in his tone.

"Actually Booth, I'm the only anthropologist you know, so technically your statement is inaccurate."

They both chuckled at this.

"So, how's the interview going so far?"

"Interview? I have been sitting here by myself, waiting for my berry smoothie to come."

"Huh? What? Berry smoothie? Bones... you nicknamed the kid already?!"

Brennan laughed at her partner's confusion. "No Booth. Her name is Linda, and she hasn't shown up yet."

"Yet? Ouch... Looks like we can cross her off our 'potential students' list then."

"Mmm… hold on Booth, my order came."

An attractive blonde waitress came up to Brennan, and handed her the order. Brennan thanked the waitress, and gave her a very generous tip.

"You know Booth, this café is very impressive! I should bring you here some time. They serve all organic fruit blends and drinks. It's very tasty and healthy."

Booth laughed at his partner's restaurant choices. "Is that so?"

"Yes. And they don't put any sugar in any of their blends. Instead, they leave it up to the customer to add the preferred amount."

As she said this, she took one teaspoon of sugar, added it to the smoothie, and began to stir.

"Let me guess, even the sugar is organic" Booth snickered.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Oh… I don't know Bones. Lucky guess." he laughed.

"You seem to be very good at guessing Booth" she complimented

"haha… I think this is the very first nice thing I've heard from you today!"

"What are you trying to say? That I'm usually a grumpy old lady?"

"Well… umm……" he tried to think of something to say, but was interrupted by a loud…

"AAAAHHHHHH (suppose to be screaming :P)"

"Bones?! Are you there? Are you okay?!"

The blonde waitress came running out the back of the café screaming, shaking uncontrollably, and pale as a ghost…. "there's… there's" she pointed to the kitchen of the café, "there's a body in the freezer."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: 

The Taste of Heaven café was closed off with yellow crime tape. Police cars surrounded the perimeter of the building, and Brennan stood outside talking to a police officer.

Just then, Booth pulled up to the parking space, and jumped out the big fancy car that helped him and Bones 'catch the bad guys'. Once spotted, Brennan could not help but to smile upon seeing her partner carrying the Field Kit and work boots, just like she had asked.

"So Bones, wanna update me on what's going on?" he asked in amusement.

All the employees stood outside, being questioned by a private investigator; this allowed room for Brennan and Booth to fully search the area within the café.

"Well," Brennan explained, "I was talking to you on the phone, when Katie, one of the employees, came out of the back screaming that there was a body in the freezer."

Booth's face turned a yellowish pale.

The two walked into the café and into the back where all the action occurred.

"Bingo! Here's where we can start," pointed Brennan.

The kitchen was a small and tidy area, bordered with a marble counter. The wall to the left was a compartment, literally showcasing a variety of blenders of all shapes and sizes.

"haha... Wow! Look at that Bones! It's the blender 'hall of fame'!" he joked.

"well… it is a café Booth. This is where they make their income… so I would assume that they must have the essential equipment in order to satisfy the customers' demands..."

"Okay... you know what… what don't I just shut up, and search for a body okay? he said, irratated.

"Well," she pointed, " the body should be in the freezer."

The two moved towards the chilly air coming from the giant fridge. The door was left wide open, and the light made the place look a little eerie. And just like Katie had said, there lay a body- limp, frozen, and starting to decompose.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The squint squad gathered around doctor Temperance Brennan as she circled the body, trying to retell the victim's tale of woe.

"Male, early twenties, no sign of physical trauma." She contiuned walking around the examination table, observing every bone and tissue of the male victim. Then she stopped and closely 'squinted' at the victims abdominals. "Impressive… it looks like our victim was very dedicated to working out." She poked at what was left of the 'six pack', "wow… once upon a time, thses were very nicley built abdominals!"

"Okay, so what killed the guy Bones? Too many pushups?" Agent Booth asked, laughing at his own joke. He looked around at the team, but he only got a smile back from Angela and Cam. "Typical squints…" he thought.

" Well, other than freezing to death? I can't say anything yet Booth, its too early for assumptions. These Bones will need to be cleaned in order for me to better examine the victim, and so Angela can do a facial reconstruction." Brennan, picked up two small jars and passed them to Hodgins.

" For now," he said, " I can do an analysis on the bug activity found on the body to determine approximate time of death… that'll give us something to work with." He took the two jars, and walked off the platform, towards the lab.

"Great! So then me and Bones, we can go do some questioning back at the café!" Booth declared.

"Okay, I ran a toxic screen test on our victim, and the results should be in soon, I'll give you a call when they're in Dr. Brennan." announced Cam.

" Thanks Cam," and with that, Brennan grabbed her bag and headed out the Jeffersonian with Booth's arm around her waist.

"… Okay, I will be in my office drinking coffee if anyone needs my assistance" teased Angela.

Back at the café, Booth and Brennan sat together, each with a cup of coffee, waiting for their number one eyewitness to show.

"So what do you think of the coffee Booth? It tastes better, right?"

Booth looked at his partner with suspicion, and gave her the 'eyebrow raise'. "Is this why your brought me here Bones? To prove your point?"

"Well, techinically, I actually didn't bring you here, you brought us here… but I thought I would take the chance to… you know…"

"You are not going to change my mind Bones. Coffee is Coffee."

As the two sat there sipping their coffee, Brennan recognized the waitreess from the other day. "Booth, Booth!" she wisphered, nudging him with her elbow, "that's the girl who came out screaming."

"Great!" he sacrcastically exclaimed, hopping off his chair, "we found our main witness."

Booth, Brennan, and the waitress, Katie, all stood outside, in the back alley of the café. Katie stood close to the door of the café, almost as though she was ready to bolt if she suspected any danger. Her arms were tightly crossed around her chest, and she nervesly bit at her nails.

"You were the one who saw the body correct?" questioned Angent Booth.

"Yes… one of our custumers ordered a berry blend, and we had run out of berries… so I went into the freezer to grab another box, and.. that's when I saw it." She nervesly replied.

Booth turned to his partner, surprised at what the girl had said. " Organic fruit Bones?" he wisphered, " They keep their fruit in the freezer… with dead bodies!"

"They're organically planted Booth!" Brennan protested. " They have to preserve them in cold temerpatrues to keep from from rotting."

He sarcastically nodded his head in understanding, but then smiled in victory because he knew he had won the argument against his partner. He turned his attention back to the waitress. "You said your name was Katie?"

The girl nodded.

"And, how long have you been working here, Katie?"

"About two years. I started out as a waitress, and then I moved up to assistant manger." As the girl was talking, Booth scribbled down all that she said.

"We are going to need a list of all the employees' names and contact information for future reference. As well as the name and address of the manger of this place." Brennan informed the waitress.

"Okay, yea, no problem. I can go get that for you right now, just one second." And just like that, Katie went back into the Café, to retrive the wanted information.

Brennan looked at her partner with questioning eyes. "You think she had anything to do with it?"

"What am I, a fortune teller?" he said, annoyed, "We don't have enough information to suspect anoyne yet Bones."

Brennan dissapointedly looked at her partner. "I guess he's right, I always tell him not to jump to concluions." she thought. As she was lost, deep in her thoughts, her cell began to ring.

"Brennan" she answered.

Cam's worried voice came out of the speaker phone. " The tests came back Dr. Brennan. You should come and have a look."

"Why? What's Wrong Cam?"

" It looks like out victim… was poisoned."

Brennan's eyes grew big at what Cam had just reveild. They were dealing with something worse then just a body in a freezer. It was going to be a case of great vengence. "Posioned?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Brennan sat at her desk, waiting for Cam to bring the new information she found. Booth stood beside Brennan. It was always like that. She was the one sitting, he was the one standing. It really was like having a body guard. Brennan was ususally an independent person. She did things on her own, she could fight for herself, and she didn't like the idea of people having to protect her. But for some odd reason, with Booth, she didn't mind at all.

Cam strode into the office, one hand holding the file, the other on her hip. "Okay, put your heads together and hear me out you two."

Puzzled, Brenna got out of her chair, and walked towards Booth. "Hey," she wisphered to him, "squat down a little, we have to put our heads together." She attempted to reach her partners hight by standing on her toes, trying to lean in so their heads can meet.

Booth looked at her with bewilderment, and exploded in laughter.

"What? What's so funny?" asked Brennan, confused. She looked at Booth, who was having a laughing fit, and then at Cam who had her "okay, now I'm lost" expression on.

"Bones, Bones" Booth said, in between breaths, "she didn't mean that literally. Sometimes, you just…" and he tore into laughter again, leaving his partner totally clueless.

"Okay you two, I don't know what is so funny, but listen up." She looked from Brennan to Booth, sternely. Booth tried to contain his laughter, taking a quick peek at his partner, who was still totally clueless.

"When I was doing the autopsy on the body," started Cam, " I found really high concentrations of acid in the victims oral cavity, and esophugus."

"Did you run a test on the acid to determine what the type was?" questioned Brennan.

"Yes," nodded Cam, "and here's the disturbing part…" she held out a chart for the partners to see, "traces of hydrocloric acid were left behind in the victims digestive track and mouth… and get this… the PH of the hydrocloric acid is a perfect match to the PH of stomach acid."

Booth looked from Cam to Brennan, sickened. "So, he... what? Drank a jug of acid and died?"

Brennan took the chart from Cam, and studied it carefully as Cam continued explaning.

" Then when the toxic screen test came back, it all made perfect sense… traces of _Ricinus communis _were found in the victims blood stream. It was a large enough dose to poison him to death."

Now, Booth was the clueless one. "Ricinus what?!"

"_Ricinus communis,_" repeated Brennan, "it's Latin for castor bean plant- a native tropical plant cultivated in several warm countries. A large enough dose of this plants bean can be very fatal."

"So, he died from a bean?" Booth questioned, attempting to understand.

"Yes," nodded Brennan. "He was poisoned by the plant, started vomiting as a side effect, chocked, died and was put in a freezer. The only question now is who is he? And who could do such a thing?

"and why?" added Booth.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"_Ricinus communis_" restated Hodgins, as he peered through his microscope. "It comes from the species of the Euphorbiaceous, and member of the genus _Ricinus_, of the sub-tribe Ricininae." He turned his body towards his team- primarily Cam and Brennan.

"The results match, the victim was poisoned by the castor seed. Usually, the castor seed is used to make oil, but if digested, the ricin in the seed can lead to death." As he said this, Hodgins projected a picture of the castor bean. "Also, the bug activity suggests time of death to be approximately 10 days."

"Ten days?" asked Brennan confused, "how can he have stayed locked up in a freezer for ten days, without nobody noticing?"

"He might have been placed in the freezer after," suggested Cam

"It's a possibility," commented Brennan. "Jack, take a look at the victims clothing; see if you can trace any minerals that can help us identify where he was before he was murdered."

"I'm on it" he replied, enthusiastically and he strode off to do his thing. As Hodgins walked off the platform, Angela walked on.

"I did a facial reconstruction of our victim," she said, showing Brennan and Cam the sketch. "I ran it through the missing person's database, and got a match." The second screen projected a picture of the victim. He was a young, Caucasian man. He had warm brown eyes, and light hazelnut hair. "His name is Adam Becker. He was last seen the morning of October 9th, leaving a fitness center beside his apartment. His boss reported him missing after he missed three work days, and there was no answer at home, or his cell."

"Thanks Angela, that's great." Brennan patted her friend on the back. "Could you print me out his home, work, and fitness center addresses?"

"Sure, sweetie, I'll have that for you in a bit."

Booth came walking into the Jeffersonian, towards the platform, and swiped his "squint squad" card. "Hey, Bones, why are you looking at coffee beans?" he questioned, pointing at the picture Hodgins had put up of the castor plant.

"They're not coffee beans Booth, it's the… that's it! Booth, you're a genius!"

Booth looked at his partner in shock, as he grinned proudly. "Why thank you Bones!" then he paused for a minute and asked "ummm…wait… I am?"

"Cam, tell Angela to send me the addresses my mail… and let me know when Hodgins has anything in on the location of the murder." she said as she walked off the platform. "Come on Booth! We have to go back to the crime scene, and do some more snooping around."

"Aye-Aye captain," he mumbled, and then shouted after his partner, "Wait Bones! Aren't you going to even tell my I'm such a genius?" but she was already out the Jeffersonian door.

"Jeez," he thought, "what did I say this time?"

**comments and reviews would be great :D and would help me improve my writing and the storyline! :D thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

In the SUV, Booth drove in silence, while his partner eagerly scribbled down notes in the case file.

When they had gotten into the car, he tried to understand what he had said that was so important, but she just shushed him, asking to:

"be quite and let her concentrate, and that she would "explain everything in a minute." Now, half an hour had passed, and she was still madly writing.

Booth cleared his throat, and once again tried to squeeze out the facts from his partner. "Temperance?" he questioned her, with a look of amusement in his dark eyes. He knew that if he used her first name, it would capture her full attention.

Her heart beat just a little faster upon hearing her given name. She slowly turned her head towards her partner; she couldn't help but smile, as he had on a gigantic grin. She was defeated.

"Aha, so now I've got your attention! Are you going to fill me in, or do I have to rip those papers from your hand?" he pointed.

"Well Booth," she began "I think we are on to something here. Adam had been poisoned by the castor bean, but I didn't understand how it would have gotten into his system… until" she smiled, "you pointed out that the castor resembled coffee beans- that's when it clicked. Someone could have easily mixed the castor beans with the coffee granules, and created a recipe for disaster." by the end of her explanation, she was as excited, and full of enthusiasm as a child on a merry-go-round.

Booth stared at his partner in shock. All of this was coming from the scientist who didn't believe in her gut. He shook his head and laughed. "Bones, Bones, Bones…what you just experienced there… was the pure essence of your 'gut feeling'!"

"I…No, I didn't Booth. I simply took the facts that I was given, and created the most probable scenario to best fit this case."

"You can call it what you want Bones, but that… that's your gut telling you what to do" he said, poking his partners shoulder as she was climbing out of the van.

And with that she headed into the café, in search for the poison, while he drove off to tell the Becker's about their son's death.

**its kind of a slow start to a case, but hopefully lots more good stuff to come... :D reviews are great!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Back at the Jeffersonian, the team watched as a group of men brought in a truck load of 'evidence' that Brennan had found at the crime scene. She decided it was best that all the coffee barrels were examined, and better yet, by none other then her team at the Jeffersonian.

It had been a vigorous phone fight between Dr. Brennan and the Café manager Timothy Clay. Apparently, he was tanning in some beach in Cancun while his café was the crime scene for a homicide.

Mr. Clay had refused to let Dr. Brennan take his coffee beans unless she presented his lawyer with a warrant and a valid statement.

"Other wise," he had said, "I will not allow you to jeopardize my business and reputation as a successful CEO."

"Ironic" thought Brennan, "he's tanning on some beach, and letting his workers do his dirty work." She shook her head in disapproval.

However, with a quick phone call to Caroline, she had presented Mr. Clay's lawyer with a warrant in less than 15 minutes- thank goodness for Caroline.

In the middle of all the liveliness at the Jeffersonian, Booth walked in, his jaw dropped. He had left his partner alone at the crime scene for less then an hour, and came back to find that she had brought the café back to the lab for examination.

"Bones!" he exclaimed with shock as he walked towards his partner in disbelief. "What did you do? This is insane!"

"What is insane Booth?" he asked, in vague.

"This," he pointed towards the dozen or so barrels filling the interior of the lab. "These… the barrels Bones! What the heck happened?"

"This was the only way I could accurately examine the beans, and find the right evidence for the…" she started explaining, but Booth cut her off.

"Bones, we have no right in destroying their business. What if… wait? Please tell me you asked before you took these" he froze at the thought of his partner 'kidnapping' the barrels and sneaking them onto the truck.

"What are your implying Booth? That I would have taken these without permission? Of course not, I know how to play the game Booth…" she replied, annoyed. "After all… I learning from the best" she said as she pocked him on the shoulder, and she walked off towards the rest of the team.

In total, 16 large barrels of coffee were delivered. Brennan assigned Hodgins, Cam, Angela and herself each four barrels to examine.

As always, Hodgins was enjoying himself- almost as though he were sifting through golden clouds of heaven.

Cam was her typical self, not showing much emotion, just doing her job.

As for Angela, she simply hated the task, and displeasure was written all over her face. Fortunately for Brennan, all four of her barrels came out clean, and she was free to go.

"If anyone finds anything, let me know; I will be in my office." She instructed, and she left the remaining members of her team to sift through the evidence.

**R&R Please!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Brennan headed into her office and started doing some paper work on the case. A few minutes after she had settled down, Booth walked in.

"Hey Booth" she welcomed him in.

"Hi" he replied with a smile.

"You never told me how the meeting with the parents went" she said.

"Well… not really what I expected" he confessed. "They were kind of… weird"

"How so?"

"Well… when I told them that their son was dead… they told me that they weren't surprised" he replied, as his eyebrows arched towards his hairline.

Brennan looked confused.

"Apparently, our victim was, and I quote _"a free spirit, who left home at the age of 16 to soar through the world and experience its thrill"_..." he paused, cleared his throat and continued once again, "I mean talk about poetic… but then again, even his parents were a little out of it. His parents are Zen masters- no wonder the kid wanted to run for it. They literally had me doing yoga in my seat!" he exclaimed in sarcasm.

Brennan glared at Booth's insensitivity. "Booth! That's quite assumption. He may have had bigger dreams than his parents."

"Look, all I'm saying Bones is that in my entire professional career, I've never seen the parents not cry for their kid… these two… they were like statues, they didn't even shed a single tear…" he argued.

Before Brennan got a chance to rebuttal, Hodgins walked, with the 'king of the lab' expression painted on his face.

"Dr. Brennan, I found the castor beans."

Brennan hopped out of her seat and followed Hodgins out the door. Booth hesitantly got up, and followed the train.

**R&R Please :D**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

"Great Job Hodgins" complimented Brennan. "Try to match these types of beans to the residue found in the victims system."

While she went to discuss the case with Cam, Booth leaned onto the railing of the platform and began to think about the case.

They were literally at a dead end. The squints couldn't tell much from the body, they had no suspects to question, no leads on anything so far, the parents didn't know enough about their own son to help the investigation- really, all they had was a bunch of beans linking the boy to the café.

Before visiting the parents that morning, Booth had gone to Adam's apartment building, but wasn't able to get through the front door without a key. When he contacted the landlord of the property, he'd promised Booth a key by the end of the day. It was nearly 4:00 in the evening, and he still hadn't heard from the guy. He decided that if he heard nothing by tomorrow, he'd take matters into his own hands.

As for right now though, the case was a crawling slow. Usually, they would have had the main suspect in custody, and a couple other suspects waiting in line.

He secretly made a small prayer to God, asking His help in the case.

He looked at his partner, who was now standing over Hodgins, examining his findings.

She was trying hard to concentrate on what he was telling her- her eyes squinting at his findings, her hands on her hips, and of course her trademark move, she bit her lower lip while she observed.

They'd known each other for over three years now. He knew the Brennan then who was standing here today was a very different woamn then the one he had first met.

He had to admit, she had change in the past year or so. She'd definitely become more open to the outside world, but most importantly she'd become more open towards him.

Before, he had to pry to figure out what was bothering her, now, on occasion she would come to him for help.

Slowly, she was breaking out of her shell and starting to live. On top of all that, he though, she aged very, very gracefully... she really was a beautiful human being.

Booth, in his state of daze, had not noticed that Brennan was now standing right face to face with him, her hand waving, trying to get his attention.

"Booth? Hello? Booth?" she repeated over and over again.

Snapping out of 'thinking mode' Booth cleared his throat, and grinned.

"What were you thinking?" Brennan asked, mischievously.

"Ohh… nothing, just you know, about the case… and stuff" he replied.

She doubted his answer, but decided to drop the argument for now. She looked at her watch and exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh no, Booth! … We better hurry. We have an appointment with Dr. Sweets in five minutes."

**Thanks to all who have read and commented so far! Comments keep me writing, so please R&R!**


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